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Sean D. Reyes
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AG Reyes & Olympic Gold Medalist Encourage Teens to Say “No”

UTAH AG AND OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST ENCOURAGE TEENS TO SAY ‘NO’ TO ALCOHOL
AG Reyes and Summer Sanders Film Anti-Underage Drinking PSA for Alcohol Responsibility Month

SALT LAKE CITY – Kicking off an April-long observance of “Alcohol Responsibility Month,” Attorney General Reyes, Olympic gold medalist Summer Sanders and the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility teamed up to release a public service announcement (PSA) to prevent underage drinking. In the PSA, through the Foundation’s Ask, Listen, Learn: Kids and Alcohol Don’t Mix program, AG Reyes and Sanders encourage parents to have conversations with their kids and teens about saying “no” to underage drinking. 

AG Reyes commented on the importance of this topic:

“As a parent of six, I know how hard it can be to have these conversations both from a time and comfort perspective. But underage drinking is a reality our children face regularly. The influence our conversations have on our children are impactful whether or not we realize it or they acknowledge it. When we have real conversations about the effects of underage drinking, we show our children they are strong enough to make the hard and often unpopular choice when confronted by peer pressure. I am proud to partner with Responsibility.org as they resource parents with ways to address underage drinking. Together we can profoundly impact the lives and futures of our children in addition to increasing their safety and the safety of those around us.”

Sanders, who won two gold medals, one silver and bronze in the 1992 Olympic swimming competition agreed, stating:

“I’m thrilled to be a part of Ask, Listen, Learn team. As an Olympian and a mother of two, I’m keenly aware of how important it is to make the right choices, be a positive role model, and have meaningful conversations with my kids. I hope these PSAs will remind parents that they are the biggest influence in their kids’ decision to drink—or not to drink—alcohol and just how important it is to talk to them about underage drinking.”

AG Reyes encourages parents to talk with kids about alcohol because talking to teens about how drinking is unhealthy and negatively impacts their developing brains has shown to be effective. From 2003 to 2016, conversations between kids and their parents increased 73 percent. Since the inception of Ask, Listen, Learn, underage drinking has decreased 40 percent, according to the 2017 Monitoring the Future study. While this is a major improvement—underage drinking is at a record low—there is still work to be done. The PSA will begin airing this month.

“It was truly a pleasure working with Summer Sanders and so many of our country’s attorneys general in our longstanding joint effort to combat underage drinking,” said Ralph Blackman, president and CEO of Responsibility.org. “There is no better time than April—Alcohol Responsibility Month—to jumpstart conversations about making smart choices. We hope these PSAs will encourage parents to start the conversation about alcohol responsibility early, and continue it often, with their kids.”

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NOTES:

  1. You can watch the PSA here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17zU_LUwFs4.
  2. The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility is a national not-for-profit that leads the fight to eliminate drunk driving and underage drinking and is funded by the following distillers: Bacardi U.S.A., Inc.; Beam Suntory Inc.; Brown-Forman; Constellation Brands, Inc.; DIAGEO; Edrington; Mast-Jägermeister US; and Pernod Ricard USA. To learn more, please visit responsibility.org.
  3. You can find the entire Monitoring the Future study here: https://attorneygeneral.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/mtf-overview2017.pdf.